SIX NEWBORN babies who contracted Legionnaires’ disease were yesterday discharged from the Makarios Hospital.
The infants have been allowed to leave the hospital under instructions to their parents that they return to hospital for a period of time for further tests, Makarios Hospital Paediatric Head Dr Andreas Hadjidemetriou said.
Two other newborns are still receiving treatment in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
One of the two could be released as early as today, as its condition was deemed stable and its treatment was coming to an end. It has also been in a separate cot for several days now, Hadjidemetriou said.
“That will leave one child in the neonatal intensive care unit which is still on a respirator,” he said.
“It is still not out of danger… When a patient is on a respirator we cannot say he has escaped danger,” he added.
Meanwhile, the state electromechanical services are testing nearly 200 imported humidifiers like the one used at the Hippocration private hospital where the babies ingested the bacteria. State laboratory tests have already shown elevated levels of legionella bacteria in the water used in the humidifier in the neonatal unit, which helped in the bacteria’s multiplication and vaporisation.
The competent service has already started testing a number of machines from the importer to ensure the equipment itself is not faulty.
Eleven humidifiers of the same brand have already been distributed to other clinics and hospitals. Reports said the Health Ministry had already issued instructions that the equipment not be used pending further investigation. A further 119 humidifiers were also sold on the market.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus Private Hospitals and Clinics’ Association yesterday expressed its sorrow over the death of the three newborns that contracted Legionnaires’ disease.
The association said the Hippocration had acted responsibly by immediately closing down its maternity ward and then closing down its remaining inpatient wards as a prevention measure.
The private hospital had also invited an international expert to inspect its systems and was fully co-operating with the authorities, the association said.
“We stress that private hospitals and clinics operate according to strict laws/regulations and are subject to continuous inspections and controls from the competent authorities. The main concern of private clinics and hospitals is to offer high level services and patient safety,” it said.
